


Dog Gone Day

by mezzosesu



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Gen, Pet Sitting, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:35:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23041849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mezzosesu/pseuds/mezzosesu
Summary: As far as Ivan knew, dog sitting wasn't that difficult. However, when tasked with watching Sky High's precious dog, John, he gets a little more than he bargained for.Written forCasual Heroes: A Tiger and Bunny Zine, centered about the personal lives of the heroes.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Dog Gone Day

**Author's Note:**

> I had an opportunity to write a second piece for this zine, and wouldn't you know it but Ivan needed some love so I tried my best to give him some!

As far as Ivan knew, dog sitting wasn't that difficult. Sure, without any proper experience it could be a bit challenging, and it was definitely more work than watching a cat, but it wasn't impossible.

At least, that was his assumption until he was handed John's handling instructions.

"Thank you, and again, thank you for watching John for me!” Sky High boomed.

Without his helmet his voice really carried, and in his massive apartment Ivan swore there was an echo.

“It's no problem at all, Mr. Sky High,” Ivan replied with a shrug before sitting on Sky High's couch and flipping through the list of instructions.

Well, less of a list and more of a manual really.

"There sure are a lot of different things in here…” He tried hard to make sure he sounded casual.

Sky High brought a hand to his forehead and laughed. “It is a lot, isn’t it? However, it is always good to be prepared for every kind of catastrophic event!”

Ivan laughed along, but as Sky High continued to talk he mentally checked out of the conversation. What in the world were these instructions? Sure he had never watched over a dog before so he didn’t have the best idea of what was needed, but it seemed a little… much? Some of the information was actually helpful, like knowing where the leash was located and the emergency numbers for the vet, but then there was a good fifteen pages that illustrated ‘eligible’ suitors for John. And why would he need to know John’s favorite genre of music?

In any case it didn’t matter, because Sky High needed him for this, and today he would be the hero. He looked up, locking gazes with John, who was lazing on a lavish dog bed in the corner. His eyes burned with determination to be the best dog watcher ever, and he sealed in his aspirations with a firm nod in John’s direction. John, being a dog, probably didn’t understand the significance of the action, but his tongue lolled out all the same.

Ivan tuned back into Sky High, catching the tail end of his one-sided conversation. “...And you know, one day John’s daughter is going to have pups and I would hate for him to miss it!”

He wasn’t sure exactly how the conversation got here, but Sky High needed to get going soon and it wouldn’t do to ask him to start over. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him.”

Sky High exhaled, visibly relaxing from his expression to his shoulders. After a bit of coaxing and spending a good amount of time saying goodbye to John, Sky High finally left. Ivan closed the door behind him, then surveyed the living room with a stretch.

“Well, it’s just you and me now, John.”

John raised his head at his name and wagged his tail lazily. Taking that as an invitation, Ivan tiptoed stealthily towards the dog bed, keeping his back flat against the wall as if trying to blend in (which he totally could, but that might be too alarming for a dog). Once he reached his destination, Ivan slowly stretched his hand out over John’s body and aimed for his head, the best place for pats. John eagerly pushed into Ivan’s touch, gracing Ivan with a feel of his soft, curly fur.

Ivan gasped. “Oh, you’re so soft!”

Throwing caution to the wind, he wrapped his arms around John and rubbed his cheek against John’s sides. Surprisingly, John looked like he was okay with the treatment, so Ivan continued to pet him, reveling in the softness. He could’ve fallen asleep just like that.

Some time later, Ivan slowly opened his eyes to realize that he did, in fact, fall asleep right there in the dog bed. Stifling a yawn, he stretched his stiff limbs. John must’ve gotten bored and left because he was nowhere to be seen.

He figured that he had slept for an hour or two, and a quick glance at his phone confirmed it. It wasn’t the best start to his dog sitting adventures if he wanted to wow Mr. Sky High, but as long as he didn’t stray too far from the instructions he should be fine.

“Okay, what’s first on the list…” Ivan murmured out loud as he dragged himself over to the coffee table. He reached his hand up over his head to blindly search the table, and he let out an elated sound when his fingers brushed over the stack of paper. Pulling the instructions off the table, Ivan scanned the list. John still had some time before lunch, so that was fine. Brushing, Ivan didn’t need to do. Scheduled play time was generally when John went to the park after going outside to do his business, but that usually happened at…

...Oh, he was supposed to do that half an hour ago. Crap. 

Ivan sprang to his feet with the agility of a trained martial artist and ran for the entranceway. He was halfway through frantically pulling on his shoes before he realized: he needed the leash.   
And John.

“John! Time for a walk! Come here boy!” Ivan whistled. He listened out for the scamper of paws on hardwood or a bark, but only silence answered back. Concerned, Ivan hopped back into the living room, balancing himself against the wall as he searched for the golden retriever.

“John?”

He went to the kitchen, but again there was no sign of him anywhere. Even more concerning, his leash wasn’t in its place beside his food bowl. Huh. Well, Sky High’s apartment wasn’t that big. He had to be here somewhere.

However, as he checked every nook and cranny, he couldn’t find John. It was as if he had disappeared, but that was impossible: animals couldn’t have NEXT powers, and even if they could, he was sure that Sky High would’ve talked about it at length with him. He had heard that some dogs could be highly intelligent, but that was only with learning tricks like shaking hands and finding where the food was stored, definitely not like, say, opening doors…

Ivan’s blood ran cold as he glanced at the front door. He took a deep breath. Then another. And a third for good measure. Then he snatched the spare key from the coffee table, along with John’s care instructions, before sprinting out the door. Once Sky High discovered that John was missing, he would destroy Ivan, or ever worse, aim that soul-shattering Look of Disappointment ™ at him. Imagining that terrible expression had Ivan taking the steps five at a time down the stairwell.

Once he reached the front of the apartment complex, Ivan ran around the perimeter, yelling John’s name as he stuck his head in every bush, peered inside every garbage can and into every corner, as well as in a few trees. John simply wasn’t here.

He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. His thumb hovered on the ‘Call’ button over Sky High’s name, and while Ivan knew he should let him know what happened, he really wanted him to think he was trustworthy. Losing his dog was most decidedly anything but that, so Ivan did the most responsible thing: he tucked his phone back into his pocket and continued to look for John.

According to the information Ivan had, John had a preference for people and small shops, so Ivan’s first destination was the main street. He kept his eye out for golden fur sticking out of odd places, and when he passed by non-threatening people he showed them a picture of John, asking them if they had seen a lost dog. Unfortunately, no one had seen him.

The next spot Ivan checked was the nearby dog park. The guide had said that John routinely visited there, and it wouldn’t be hard to check, Ivan thought.

Little did he know that the park was massive.

“Why does a dog park even need a fountain anyway?” Ivan exclaimed as he ran past a fountain with a giant statue of a stoic, imposing dog in the center.

There were plenty of chihuahuas, labradors, large, short-haired dogs, and small dogs that were more fur than actual dog, but there was no semblance of John to be found.

By the time he finished mapping the park the sun was low in the sky. Soon it would be too dark to find him. Depressed and dehydrated, Ivan hauled himself back to Sky High’s apartment. Along the way he rehearsed how to break the news. ‘Sorry I lost your dog’ would be good, but ‘Your dog somehow escaped and I have no idea how it happened’ had a nice ring to it. He had to compensate Sky High somehow, but what was the cost of lifelong memories and friendships? More than his budget allowed, he was sure.

When he reached the apartment, Ivan sighed. His arms felt like lead with all the dread dragging him down, but he had to face the consequences of his actions: An empty apartment and soon, his empty life-savings account. He opened the door, halfway through his automatic greeting, when the words turned to a low shriek.

“Oh, Origami, you’ve returned! Welcome, and again, welcome back!” Sky High, still clad in his hero outfit, gave him a friendly wave from the couch. Beside him, John woofed out a greeting.

Ivan’s jaw dropped and he gazed at the two of them. “Wait, but John--he--gone? Lost? How is he here?!”

Sky High gave a hearty laugh. “Sorry, I should have warned you; John is very schedule-oriented. If you don’t take him out on time, he tends to let himself out for his walk. He even took his leash and everything!”

He laughed again, and the emotions with Ivan shifted from depressed to disbelief. He glanced at John again, and he swore John actually winked at him.

Next time he had a day off, Ivan resolved to spend it in the sanctity of his home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Did you enjoy yourself? Consider letting me know with a kudos and/or comment! And if you're curious about my other work or just want to find where else I am on the internet, you can find that [here](https://mezzosesu.carrd.co/)!


End file.
